The responses to my work that proved most meaningful were those that recognized the subject matter as an exploration of new ideas. My studies went through many transitional stages, as my work at this point in my painting career is as well. A few individuals recognized my attempt to convey some sense of a habitual behavior.
At this point I am not certain if my intent of displaying various individual’s vices comes across or whether it is the commercial aspect of the Splenda sugar packet that people find intriguing. I am also asking the question of whether or not the viewer is able to draw any connection between the people I intend to paint and the corresponding element of addiction, or is the viewer simply seeing: person and element, no connection.
I tend to respond better to constructive criticism. I have been painting portraits, although untraditionally, for a few months, and want to continue to find new ways of bringing the subject matter to life so that the viewer does not feel as though they are simply looking at a painterly face. I specifically did not try to paint any faces in my studies because it is something I have already done, but instead used collage to stand in for the form and layer on top. I know I am capable of portraiture, so for someone to simply give be positive feedback about a painting “looking nice” or whether or not they “like it” will not help me. I am more interested in what is bothersome or what is unsuccessful about my pieces, perhaps not so that I can go and change everything that I am doing, but so that I may be able to experiment with new techniques and ideas.
I am taking from my studies the heavily layered elements. I do not think that I want the element of text to be as prominent because I still want the focus to be on the paint. I am also not sure the exact subject matter of dependency/addiction will hold true to all my pieces. It is inevitable that I will run into problems as I am adding new components to my work, but I am definitely not ready to give up on the idea.
